Hazard Identification and Control for a Sport Management

Assessment Brief

Course: HSM 403 – Facility & Event Risk Management
Subject: Sport Management
Type: Risk Management Assessment Essay
Length: 2 pages (600–800 words)
Deadline: Please refer to the unit LMS for the submission date.

Overview
Effective risk management in sport relies on the systematic identification of hazards before they become incidents. This assignment shifts the focus away from theoretical frameworks and places it squarely on your immediate physical environment. You will conduct a safety audit of a space you know well: your own home or your place of employment.

Task Description
Select either your home or your workplace as the site for this assessment. Walk through the space methodically, document all identifiable hazards, and then develop practical, evidence-based control measures. The final submission is a structured risk management essay with three integrated components. First, you must identify and categorize a minimum of five distinct risks. Second, you will analyze each risk using a standard risk assessment matrix to determine likelihood and consequence. Third, you will propose and justify realistic solutions for each risk, assigning appropriate treatment strategies as defined by the ISO 31000 risk management framework. The analysis must demonstrate clear comprehension of the hierarchy of controls, from elimination to administrative measures and personal protective equipment.

Requirements

• Apply standard risk management terminology and frameworks throughout.

• Include an introductory statement outlining the chosen site and its function.

• Provide a clear, referenced definition of a hazard and a risk.

• Utilize a basic risk rating matrix (for example, a 5×5 likelihood/consequence table) for evaluation.

• Propose solutions that are proportionate, practical, and logically connected to each specific risk.

• Format the paper in APA 7th edition style with a title page and a references list.

• The word count excludes the title page, any matrices presented as figures, and the references.

Grading Rubric

Kitchen Slip Hazard and a Layered Control Response

A risk assessment of a home kitchen quickly surfaces a persistent slip hazard from wet tile flooring near the sink and food preparation areas. This danger represents a high-frequency, medium-consequence event where a minor distraction can result in a fracture or ligament injury. The root cause often splits between the physical property of the flooring material, which becomes slick when wet, and a behavioral pattern of ignoring small spills. A purely reactive measure such as posting a caution sign fails to address the source. The solution instead demands a layered approach grounded in the hierarchy of controls. Substitution, the most effective feasible control here, can be applied by selecting a high-traction mat with a beveled edge to cover the primary work zone, as detailed in the safety guidelines from the National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI, 2021). An engineering control follows: installing a motion-activated, battery-powered faucet light that projects a visible red warning onto the floor whenever the tap runs, serving as a non-verbal alert. Administrative controls must also reinforce the physical measures; a household rule that mandates immediate dry-mopping of any water splashes, coupled with the consistent removal of obstacles like dropped utensils from walkways, creates a behavior-based safety net. This combined strategy moves beyond mere awareness and embeds safety into the environment and routine, cutting the real-world probability of a fall.

Slip Resistance Standards and Measurement in the Home

A common error in student risk assessments is treating “clean up spills quickly” as a primary control measure, an approach that fails because it relies entirely on perpetual human vigilance. The more rigorous perspective recognizes that slip resistance is a quantifiable property of the flooring itself, one that standards exist to measure. The ceramic tile industry uses the DCOF AcuTest, where a value of 0.42 or greater for wet conditions represents the threshold for a high-traction surface as per the ANSI A137.1 standard. A homeowner might discover that their polished porcelain tiles, rated at 0.35 when wet, are inherently unsafe. This introduces the concept of residual risk: the danger that remains after initial controls like matting are in place. A practical, evidence-driven follow-up to a home safety audit would be conducting an actual coefficient of friction test with a portable tribometer, a device now accessible for rental from some industrial safety suppliers. The data from such a test shifts the discussion from subjective opinion to objective fact, strengthening the justification for an expensive but permanent corrective action like a full-floor chemical etching treatment or tile replacement. Understanding this quantitative side transforms a simple hazard checklist into a technically defensible safety study.

• Prioritize the hierarchy of controls with elimination and substitution at the top, not administrative warnings.

• Differentiate between a “hazard” which is the potential source of harm, and “risk,” which is the probability and severity of that harm occurring.

• Match the complexity of each solution to the actual risk rating; a catastrophic risk demands a more expensive and robust control than a minor one.

• Support each risk rating with a concrete reason. For example, state “The likelihood is rated ‘Possible’ because this specific model of appliance has 1,200 consumer reports of this electrical fault on the CPSC database.”

References

National Floor Safety Institute. (2021). Preventing slips, trips, and falls. NFSI. https://nfsi.org/preventing-slips-trips-and-falls/

Olsen, H., & Hudson, S. (2022). Risk management in outdoor and adventure programs: scenarios of incidents and application of the hierarchy of controls. Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership, *14*(1), 62–76. https://doi.org/10.18666/JOREL-2022-V14-I1-11122

Reason, J. (2020). Managing the risks of organizational accidents (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Managing-the-Risks-of-Organizational-Accidents/Reason/p/book/9781138489851

Standards Australia & Standards New Zealand. (2018). AS/NZS ISO 31000:2018 Risk management – Guidelines. SAI Global. https://www.standards.org.au/standards-catalogue/sa-snz/publicsafety/ob-007/as-nzs-iso-31000-2018

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. (2024). SaferProducts.gov. CPSC. https://www.saferproducts.gov/

Assignment: Week 7 – Emergency Action Plan Development
Building on the site assessment you completed, you will now develop a comprehensive Emergency Action Plan for the location you previously audited. Your task is to select the single highest-rated risk from your earlier matrix and design a formal, written EAP that specifies the exact procedures, personnel assignments, and communication protocols needed to respond effectively if that risk materializes into an incident. The plan must include a detailed evacuation or shelter-in-place map, a list of emergency contact numbers, and a clear chain of command, following the template structures provided by the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security.

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